Antiracism and Belonging

Presenter: Olga Gladkikh

Background & Origin

• Formation: A diverse, informal group of community members from Antigonish (Town and County)—including individuals, representatives from local organizations, municipal representatives (Town and County), and staff from MP Jaime Battiste’s office—began meeting due to shared concerns about rising hate-related and racist incidents in the area.
• Catalyst Incident: The group originally formed to support a long-time Antigonish resident—a visibly racialized woman—who experienced a distressing, verbal hate incident involving young men telling her to "go home."
• Core Purpose: Prevent the normalization of unjust, abusive, and racist behavior, and contribute to building a safe community where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

Progression Across Previous Meetings

• Meeting 1: Gathered as a small support group following the initial incident.
• Meeting 2: Expanded the circle to involve more community members. Learned about the joint Antigonish Town and County Plan to Combat Hate and Racism (mandated by the provincial government) and brainstormed individual action ideas.
• Meeting 3: Clustered brainstormed ideas into three strategic focus areas:
  • Collaborating for Change
  • Cultural Shift
  • Capacity Building
  • Drafted Statement: Drafted a community solidarity statement to express support for victims of racism, acknowledge historical realities (including Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotians), and call for action to make Antigonish a leader in human dignity and compassion.
• Meeting 4: Focused on strategies for communicating across divides—how to engage in constructive, compassionate conversations with individuals holding differing viewpoints without escalating conflict ("create more light than heat").

Small-Group Exercise: The Social Barometer

Using the Social Barometer framework, participants broke into small groups to discuss how to approach people across a spectrum of perspectives regarding anti-racism and community change. The barometer explores how we can engage with people whose views may differ from our own on a spectrum of:

• Actively Opposed
• Passively Opposed
• Neutral / Oblivious
• Passively Supportive
• Actively Supportive

Ideas that Emerged from Discussion

• Seek to Understand: Recognize that people behave in ways that make sense to them; ask questions to help unpack the root causes of their views.
• Bust Myths with Empathy: Address misinformation by providing facts calmly, acknowledging fear, and building trust through developing ongoing relationships.
• Avoid Polarization: Focus on moving people along the spectrum gradually rather than insisting on complete agreement immediately.
• Provide Options: Give people, especially those who are passively supportive, a range of possible actions to choose from to encourage more involvement.

Community Discussion:

Keep the conversation going, post your thoughts on the following questions:

1. How would you engage with someone whose views about visibly different community members differ from your own?
2. What can we do as individuals to ensure everyone feels welcome and safe in our community?
3. How can the Town and County of Antigonish encourage a broader sense of belonging in our community?

Get involved: Next meeting Tuesday, November 3rd, 12:00 - 1:30 pm, in the Community Room of the Antigonish library. Find out what initiatives are taking place locally and provincially. All are welcome to attend.